http://www.w3.org/ -- 14 January 2003 --Leading the Web to
its full potential, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has
issued Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 and Mobile SVG Profiles as W3C
Recommendations. SVG 1.1 separates SVG capabilities into reusable building blocks,
and SVG Mobile re-combines them in a way optimized for mobile devices.
Advancement of these documents to Recommendation indicates that these
W3C-developed specifications are stable, contribute to Web interoperability,
and have been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who favor their adoption by the
industry.

SVG 1.1 Brings
Modularization to Vector Graphics

The graphical capabilities of SVG 1.1 are the same as those of
the widely implemented SVG
1.0 , which has been a W3C Recommendation since 4 September 2001. What
has changed is the way the language is defined. For SVG 1.0, the Document Type
Definition (DTD) was a
single, monolithic unit. In SVG 1.1, the DTD is divided up into smaller,
more flexible functional building blocks that can be reassembled in different
ways for different purposes. The SVG Working Group used the same
proven modularization techniques
pioneered by the HTML Working Group for
XHTML
modularization.

Mobile SVG Profiles
bring Vector Graphics to Handheld Devices

There is an explosion of interest in handheld devices and mobile phones
which have color screens, improved processing power and can deliver enhanced
multimedia functionality. These still fall short of the capabilities of
desktop and laptop machines, but are now capable of displaying Web standard
technologies such as XHTML, SMIL and SVG. W3C has used the SVG 1.1 building blocks to make
two profiles or subsets of full SVG; SVG Tiny, aimed at multimedia
capable cellphones such as the recently announced 3G units, and SVG Basic for handheld and palmtop
computers.

"Cellphones allow Internet and Web access for millions of people who don't
have access to desktop machines, temporarily or otherwise," said Dean Jackson, W3C Fellow from CSIRO. "With 3GPP
already incorporating Mobile SVG, we are already starting to see more rich
and useful content in third generation cellphones."

Instead of sending text messages or canned, bitmap logos, SVG Tiny now makes it possible to
send a colorful animated multimedia message. Instead of juggling a laptop or
taking a static printout to the factory floor, construction site, hospital
ward, or trading room, SVG Basic now enables the mobile
professional to consult up to date, interactive, informative graphics on a
convenient pocket computer which is dynamically updated over a wireless
network connected to the XML information hub of the
enterprise.

SVG 1.1 Integrates with Open Technologies, XML components

Another way that W3C and others are making use of the modular SVG 1.1 building blocks is to
combine them with building blocks from other W3C technologies to produce more
powerful, integrated solutions. Examples include the combination of SVG and
XForms to construct
graphically rich, interactive input forms, or SVG and SMIL Basic to
combine vector graphics with streaming audio and video, or XHTML, MathML and SVG for scientific and
technical communication including text with headings, lists and tables;
mathematical equations, and interactive graphs and diagrams.

"As with all W3C Recommendations, SVG builds on established, open
W3C technologies such as XML, CSS and DOM.
SVG also has received
rigorous review for Internationalization and Web Accessibility requirements, which results in natural
integration with existing technologies. This maximizes application power
while minimizing its footprint," said Chris Lilley, chair of the SVG Working Group and member of
the W3C Technical Architecture Group (TAG).
"Adopting open, truly standards-based solutions has already shown return on
investment; the pieces fit together in powerful, extensible and economical
ways."

SVG Mobile is now
deployed

Commercial services using SVG Mobile are now being deployed,
including location based services using geographical metadata embedded in the
SVG. The SVG Working Group is pleased by
both the number of SVG 1.1 and SVG Mobile implementations and
their quality of rendering and interoperability. Fifteen implementations were
tested in November 2002, including SVG Tiny implementations from
BitFlash, CSIRO, KDDI, Nokia, ZOOMON and SVG Basic implementations from
BitFlash, CSIRO, and Intesis; others were also under development but were not
tested at that time.

As a result of these compatibility trials, SVGimplementations
are available now from multiple vendors for integration into cellphones or
deployment on PDAs in
addition to the increasing number of implementations for desktop and laptop
computers. Conformance to one of the two profiles, rather than each
manufacturer choosing their own subset, ensures widespread interoperability
of content across mobile devices from different manufacturers. This
interoperability has three advantages for content creators: lower development
costs, wider availability, and a trust in being able to display their content
in any compliant implementation. As Mobile SVG is a true subset of SVG 1.1, all conformant desktop
players will correctly display all Mobile SVG content, ensuring the Mobile
and desktop worlds continue to share a common, standards-based Web.

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing
common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability.
It is an international industry consortium jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT
LCS) in the USA, the European Research
Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in
France and Keio University in Japan.
Services provided by the Consortium include: the development and testing of
Web Standards, a repository of information about the World Wide Web for
developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications to
demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 450 organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more
information see http://www.w3.org/